The present invention relates to a motor vehicle having a tiltable cab and a non-tilting sleeper compartment therebehind. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved sleeper compartment for a motor truck tractor having a tiltable cab-over-engine.
Motor truck tractors having a tiltable cab mounted to the chassis over the engine have been in widespread use for a number of years. Such cabs have been typified by two basic types: cabs without sleeping compartments, and cabs having sleeping compartments providing a single bunk, and perhaps a small wardrobe closet for clothing.
In recent years long-haul transcontinental trucking operations have greatly expanded, and a need has arisen for truck tractors equipped with more comfortable sleeping and living accommodations than heretofore available.
One principal limitation to the expansion of the sleeping compartment portion of a cab pivotable over the engine has been the weight of the overall cab: the sleeper compartment had to be very small, even cramped so that it would not, by its excessive weight, impair the tiltability of the overall cab.
Thus, tilt-cab sleeper compartments have heretofore been uncomfortably cramped, with but a single, restricted area sleeping cot. There has been no physical separation from the cab, and engine and other operating noises including radio communications have made it difficult, if not impossible, for an occupant of the sleeping compartment to sleep comfortably. Also, tilt-cab sleeper compartments have been unusable for the intended purposes whenever the cab has been tilted for inspection or maintenance of the engine and other co-located components of the truck. The tilting of the sleeper compartment portion of the cab has heretofore precluded placement of small items of personal property, such as cosmetics, food, etc., in open portions of the sleeper, since they would be readily dislodged, broken or misplaced by the upward tilt.
Tilt-cab sleeper compartments of the prior art had no standing room, provided wholly inadequate access to natural lighting, have inadequate storage capacity, and afforded makeshift ventilation. Direct outside access to those compartments was usually unavailable, the only entrance and exit being accomplished by climbing awkwardly between the driving area and the sleeper compartment.
Recently, long-haul trucking has become increasingly a family activity, with spouses sharing the driving chores. Family occupancy of existing tilt-cab sleeper compartments has been inconvenient, uncomfortable and unacceptable to many truckers and their spouses, thereby adding loading expenses to the already substantial overhead including fuel costs of long-haul trucking operations.
While motor homes, travel trailers, and similar recreational vehicles have been developed to provide individuals and families with vehicularized living accommodations, those units have not been constructed with the requisite strength or durability to withstand the rigors of continuous commercial trucking operations. Yet the need for much improved living accommodations in long-haul commercial truck tractor units has not only remained unsolved heretofore, it has become significantly greater.